94: Chapter 94 Central Asian Gold Mines (Part 2)

Li Xin was a bit exasperated, so he turned back to researching the data.

He opened a webpage and searched for "Uzbekistan mining investment". The results were all official propaganda—good business environment, favorable policies, and welcoming foreign investment. But he knew the reality was not that simple.

Uzbekistan's mining industry had limited openness to foreign capital, most gold mines were state-owned, and it was very difficult for foreigners to obtain mining rights. Moreover, local corruption was serious, and "greasing palms" was often required.

"I cannot go as a mining investor," Li Xin thought to himself. "It's too sensitive and I'll be targeted."

He decided to use the identity of a tourist. In recent years, Uzbekistan had been vigorously developing its tourism industry, and control over tourists was relatively relaxed. As long as he didn't get close to sensitive areas, generally, there wouldn't be any trouble.

"But going alone is a bit strange," Li Xin frowned. "Backpackers are not common in Uzbekistan, especially in non-tourist cities like Navoi."

He thought for a moment and decided to find a local guide. This would look more natural, and if he happened to encounter inspections, it would be convenient to have someone to explain.

Li Xin sent a message to Chen Hu: "Help me find a guide in Uzbekistan, Chinese or English is fine, but they must be reliable."

Chen Hu replied in seconds: "Understood. Boss, when are you leaving?"

"In a week."

"Alright."

He opened the map again and started planning the route.

Day 1: Fly from Shenzhen to Tashkent, depart in the morning, arrive in the afternoon. Stay in Tashkent.

Day 2: Tashkent to Samarkand, two hours by high-speed rail. Stay in Samarkand, pretending to be a tourist.

Day 3: Samarkand to Navoi, two hours by car. After arriving, find an opportunity to leave the main road and go to the hilly area south of the Muruntau mining area. After Extraction, return to Navoi and stay for one night.

Day 4: Navoi to Bukhara, three hours by car. Stay in Bukhara, continue touring.

Day 5: Bukhara back to Tashkent, four hours by high-speed rail. Stay in Tashkent.

Day 6: Tashkent to Almalyk, one hour by car. Find a hidden spot on the periphery of the mining area for Extraction. Return to Tashkent.

"Five days, two mining areas." Li Xin wrote the schedule in his notebook. "If it goes smoothly, I can get it done in three days."

But if an accident happened, such as being stopped at a checkpoint, being suspected by locals, or being targeted by the military, more time would be needed.

"I must leave a buffer period." He extended the itinerary to seven days.

Li Xin started researching data on Kyrgyzstan again.

The Kumtor Gold Mine was in the Issyk-Kul Lake region, and it took six or seven hours to drive there from Bishkek. The road conditions were poor, and the last stretch was gravel and dirt roads.

He opened the satellite map and found the marked valley. The valley was deep, with steep slopes on both sides, sparse vegetation, mainly meadows and shrubs. At the bottom of the valley, there was a small river, the water of which was meltwater from the snow-capped mountains.

"I can camp in the valley," Li Xin thought. "Pretend to be a hiking enthusiast and camp there for a day or two."

The Issyk-Kul Lake region in Kyrgyzstan was a famous hiking paradise, and a large number of European and American backpackers went there for hiking every year. A Chinese person going hiking wouldn't arouse suspicion.

"But I need to find a guide," he noted down. "Locals are familiar with the mountains and can lead the way."

He sent another message to Chen Hu: "I also need a guide for Kyrgyzstan, in the Issyk-Kul Lake region, who can speak English."

Chen Hu replied: "Received."

Li Xin continued looking at the map.

The mining area in Tajikistan was on the border, near Afghanistan. That place was too chaotic, so he decided to give up for the time being. When the system upgraded to a higher level and the detection range was larger, perhaps he could perform Extraction without getting close.

"Let's settle Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan first," he closed his notebook. "Kazakhstan's Kazzinc will be left for last."

Outside the window, the sky was already turning white.

Li Xin stood up and stretched. He checked the time; it was 4:30 in the morning.

He walked to the window and looked at Shenzhen Bay in the distance. There were a few fishing boats on the sea, their lights flickering. The mountains of Hong Kong were looming in the morning mist.

The phone vibrated. A message from Chen Hu: "Boss, the guide for Uzbekistan has been found. His name is Bek, a local from Tashkent, fluent in English. Still looking for the one for Kyrgyzstan."

"Good." Li Xin replied with one word.

He sent another message to Li Jiayi: "I'm going on a business trip for a few days next week, keep an eye on the company affairs."

Li Jiayi replied in seconds: "Where to?"

"Central Asia."

"What for?"

"Inspection."

"Inspection of what?"

Li Xin thought for a moment and replied with two words: "Scenery."

Li Jiayi sent an eye-rolling emoji.

Li Xin smiled and put his phone in his pocket.

He returned to the desk, opened the system panel, and glanced at that Little Yellow Man.

"AI System, how much longer until the system is fixed?"

After waiting for more than ten seconds, there was no response.

"AI System?"

After another ten seconds, the Little Yellow Man flickered.

[I... don't... know. Stop... rushing... me... I'm... working... hard.]

Li Xin sighed.

"Alright, take your time fixing it. I'm going to get some sleep."

[Al...right. Pil...lar. Good... night.]

Li Xin turned off the screen and walked out of the study. The corridor was long, with white walls on both sides, and the sensor lights overhead lit up one by one.

He walked into the bedroom and flopped onto the bed.

Staring at the ceiling, his mind was still racing. Muruntau, Almalyk, Kumtor, Kazzinc—four mining areas, 1566 tons of gold, 438.5 billion RMB.

"Can't rush," he told himself. "Take it one step at a time."

He turned over and pulled the quilt over his head.

The sky outside the window was already bright.

The phone vibrated again. He picked it up and saw a message from Chen Hu: "Boss, it's booked. Shenzhen to Tashkent next Monday, business class."

"Good."

Li Xin threw the phone on the bedside table and closed his eyes.

His mind was still thinking about the map of Uzbekistan. A-380 highway, Navoi, Zarafshan Mountains, that hilly area.

He turned over, forcing himself not to think about these things.

The sound of insects came from outside the window, in waves.

He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

At nine in the morning, Li Xin was woken up by a phone call.

He picked it up and saw it was a call from Yang Hong.

"Hello?"

"Li Xin, are you still in Shenzhen?" Yang Hong's voice sounded a bit urgent.

"Yes. What's wrong?"

"There's a problem with the product; the servers have been attacked. We suspect it's the competitors."

Li Xin sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Did we lose data?"

"No. But we are being blackmailed. The other party wants 50 Bitcoins, otherwise they will continue the attack."

"Did you call the police?"

"Yes. But the police said this kind of case is very difficult to investigate because the other party is using overseas servers."

Li Xin was silent for a few seconds.

"50 Bitcoins, how much is that now?"

"About 3 million RMB."

"Then give it to them."

There was a silence on the other end of the line.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure. 3 million is small money, but if user data is lost, the loss will be huge." Li Xin stood up and walked to the window. "Stabilize the other party first, and we'll talk after the problem is solved."

"Alright."

Hanging up the phone, Li Xin stood in front of the window, looking at the city in the distance.

Someone was messing with his business.

He remembered what Chen Hu said last time—Wang Ming was investigating his overseas assets.

"Wang Ming." Li Xin recited the name.

"This guy keeps messing around. Before, I was busy mining abroad and didn't have time to deal with him, but who would have thought he'd be so ungrateful and keep causing trouble. This time, I'll send him to Africa to mine, and it wouldn't be bad to let him go sell his ass. Hehe~" Thinking of something happy, Li Xin couldn't help but chuckle.

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Chen Hu: "How is the situation with Wang Ming being handled?"

Chen Hu replied in seconds: "Still arranging. He is in Shenzhen, so it's not easy to make a move. Have to wait for him to go abroad."

"Hurry up, find a way, it doesn't matter if you spend more money. Let him go to Africa to mine every day, and selling his ass on the side wouldn't be bad either; the African big guys over there should like him."

"Alright, Boss, I'll speed up the process. I'll definitely make him feel very 'refreshed'."

Li Xin put down his phone and took a deep breath.

The trip to Central Asia cannot be delayed. But things at home cannot be relaxed either.

He walked into the study and continued to research the data on Uzbekistan.

Opened the satellite map of Muruntau. That huge mine pit appeared before his eyes.

"1700 tons." Li Xin recited this number.

Immediately afterwards, he continued to study the security deployment of the Muruntau mining area, find safety points for the Almalyk mining area, and formulate a mountain entry route for Kyrgyzstan.

At 3:00 PM, Chen Hu sent a message: "Boss, the guide for Uzbekistan is confirmed. Bek, 35 years old, from Tashkent, has been a tour guide for five years, fluent in English. He said he can take you to Navoi, but won't enter the mining area."

"No need to enter the mining area," Li Xin replied, "He just needs to wait for me in Navoi."

"Alright."

Li Xin opened the map again and carefully reviewed the route from Navoi to Muruntau. Depart from Navoi, go south on the A-380 highway, and after about 40 kilometers, turn into a rural dirt road. Go another 20 kilometers on the dirt road, and you can reach that hilly area.

"The car can only drive to the end of the dirt road," Li Xin calculated in his mind. "The rest of the way must be hiked. It will take about an hour or more to reach the marked location."

He marked a few more points on the map: parking point, hiking starting point, and hiding point.

After confirming everything was correct, he began to organize the equipment list.

Tent, sleeping bag, dry food, water, satellite phone, GPS locator, first aid kit, flashlight, engineer shovel—these were all in the space, no need to carry them on his body.

Especially, he needed to prepare golden and oily roast duck, fragrant braised beef, steaming self-heating hot pot, boxes of nuts and desserts stacked layer by layer, fresh seafood, top-grade steaks, rare fresh fruits, and all kinds of delicacies in the space, so he would never have to endure wind and rain like before.

He checked the time; it was 4:30 PM.

One week left to prepare.

He stood up and walked to the window. On the sea of Shenzhen Bay, the setting sun dyed the seawater golden red. The mountains of Hong Kong in the distance were gradually blurring in the twilight.

The phone vibrated. A message from Li Jiayi.

"General Manager Li, the additional investment in stocks will continue next week. 5 billion has been bought this week."

"Good."

"When are you leaving?"

"Next Monday."

"Stay safe."

"I will."

Li Xin put his phone in his pocket and looked at the sunset outside the window.

His mind was simulating the scene in Uzbekistan—getting off the plane, going through customs, meeting the guide, driving to Navoi, finding an excuse to leave the main road, hiking into the mountains, scanning, and Extraction.

"Can't rush," he told himself. "Take it slow."

He turned and walked back to the desk, turning off the computer.

The notebook was densely packed with words—routes, coordinates, equipment lists, emergency plans.

He stuffed the notebook into the drawer and walked out of the study.

The corridor was long, and the sensor lights on both sides lit up one by one.

He walked into the bedroom and flopped onto the bed.

Staring at the ceiling, his mind was still racing.

Muruntau. 1700 tons. 280 billion.

He turned over and soon fell asleep.